From 2002 to 2010 a group of European scholars united in the ‘Wittem Group’ collaborated on drafting model provisions of a European Copyright Code.The members of the Wittem Group share a concern that the process of copyright law making at the European level lacks transparency and that the voice of academia too often remains unheard. The Group believes that a European Copyright Code drafted by legal scholars might serve as a model or reference tool for future harmonization or unification of ...

The title of this inaugural lecture is The Law of Human Progress. It is a double-entendre. It signifies, first, that human progress is by no means a natural law, in the sense that people and societies do not always progress naturally. The title also suggests, however, that legislation can in many cases promote human progress. Progress and change are not synonymous. When change occurs, there is not necessarily progress. Change is only a difference between two points (A and B) on a timeline. Pr...